Day 10

Holiday Caribbean Cruise

And We're Off!

Sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale

Yes, this afternoon we boarded the Caribbean Princess and sailed out of Port Everglades, headed for the Turks & Caicos Islands - a four night sailing adventure.  We LOVE to cruise and with none of the kids planning to be here the first part of the Christmas holidays we booked this trip;  but, through the wonder of the Internet I was able to continue my Gulfstream Park Handicapping Project.  I would download the past performances in the evening, make bets the following morning; spend the day enjoying the cruise; then, in between dinner and the evening's show I would check the results and get the next day's past performances.  Here's how the first day turned out........

I had found five "live" runners today, the first was in the opener where I went with Upon Reflection who was 8/1 in the program, but left the gate at 18/1 and ran to those odds.  My pick in the 2nd scratched before running a disappointing fifth at 3/5 with Todd Pletcher's Sloane Square in the fourth.  In the sixth I was a close second at 6/5 with Marvino - again a Pletcher disappointment with Javier Castellano on board.  In the 7th I doubled the bet on Gulfstream 40% Club player My Cousin Fay.  This was a non-winners-of-two-lifetime spot, but trainer Peter Walder is a Club member when giving Javier Castellano a leg-up.  All four of Fay's top numbers had been earned here.  The crowd was not fooled as she went off at 3/5 and was the easiest kind of winner! 

In the 8th I had my second scratch of the afternoon, and then I closed the day with my second win on the card in the featured ninth, an entry level allowance.  More Than A Party had four recent dirt sprints:  she had dominated allowance company twice; won a torrid pace duel, only to be nailed on the line by a closer; and was a sharp third in the Eleven North Handicap behind multiple stakes winner Geeky Gorgeous.  Paco Lopez had the rail and she was L-O-N-G gone here. 

For the day I went 40% (2-for-5 with a second).  In what is turning out to be a trend at the meet I had described the winner in five other races in my top three selections!  On the cruise we enjoyed the afternoon, dinner and a show.  Tomorrow is a full day at sea where we will enjoy our oversized balcony!